


XC-rutiating

by sunshine1374 (sasssy_sunshine)



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Genre: Cross Country, Crush, F/F
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-16
Updated: 2018-03-26
Packaged: 2018-09-17 20:46:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,676
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9343304
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sasssy_sunshine/pseuds/sunshine1374
Summary: What do you feel when you have a crush?





	1. First Day of Sophomore Year

**Author's Note:**

> First time writer. Hope you enjoy. Also for this fic, C is a sophomore and T is junior.

_Bzzzzz. Bzzzzzz. Bzzzzz._

 

A hand reaches out from under the blanket and into the cool air filling the room, searching for their stop on the alarm. After a few tries, the buzzing stops. Christen rolls over in bed, ready to get the day started.

 

It’s the first day of school, first day of sophomore year. She moves around the house, excited for the day to start and to see friends she hasn’t seen since last year. She’s even more excited for cross country to start despite the sport wanting to make her gouge her eyes out and give up but, she realizes that’s what she loves about running, pushing herself to her limits and challenging herself. It helps that she has friends on the team who make the experience even more worthwhile.

 

Christen checks the time to see that it is 6:10 and decides it’s time to head to the bus. Leaving a bit early to say bye to her parents and give some love to her dogs. She walks down the street to the bus stop and takes the time to notice how nice it is; the sun rise lighting up the neighborhood beautifully, how it smells like morning dew, and the light chit-chat of the other students that live in the neighborhood. As she waits for the bus, she watches as the sun rise creates beautiful hues of orange, yellow, and pink. The bus eventually arrives and as she sits, she sees new faces pass, excited to finally be in high school and old faces rushing past due to already being late to the bus.

 

The bus goes through it’s route and eventually arrives at the school. Students rush off, while Christen takes her time, taking in everything. Thinking thoughts of what might happen this year and looking over her schedule, taking the opportunity of being at the school early to find her classes. She walks up and down the three floors to the school, stopping and talking to familiar faces from last year, feeling confident in knowing where she needs to go but, she’s all too nervous to know if any of her friends will be in her classes, if she will have good teachers, if her classes will be too much work along with running, and how cross country will start off this year since she missed summer workouts. She’s knocked out of her thoughts by her two best friends.

 

“Hey Christen,” Julie and Kelley, say among the chatter-filled hallways.

 

“Good morning guys, how was your guys’ summer?” Christen asks curiously, not knowing the full details how the last three months went for them.

 

Kelley replies first, bursting full of energy, “It was the same old, same old but, you missed a ton during summer workouts. You see, there’s this new girl and might I just say, that I may be in L-O-V-E.”

“Oh please, Kelley, you barely talked to her from what I heard from Tobin. Apparently, you just stared and drooled every time you saw her,” Julie cuts in while Christen just giggles.

 

“Hey! That’s not entirely true, I told her that I’m Kelley and that I love chocolate milk!” Kelley yells at Julie.

 

“Kelley, keep it down. It’s too early for yelling,” Christen tells her. But with Kelley, it went in one ear and out the other.

 

“ Kelley, you only said that because Coach made you guys go around in a circle and introduce yourselves,” Julie says, rolling her eyes.

 

“So-,” Kelley begins,”Oh my gosh, there she is, act cool! Don’t embarrass me!”

 

“Kelley, you would embarrass yourself first before we do,” Christen remarks. “But who is this girl?”

 

There’s too many students in the hallway to see who Kelley is looking at but, Christen sees a familiar, friendly smile amongst the loud, fast-talking students. Tobin is walking down the hallway, her permanent smile on her face as she greets somebody Christen doesn’t recognize.

 

“Hey Kelley, you should go over and say hi to Tobin, she’s talking to you-know-who,” Julie teases.

 

“You know what, maybe I will,” Kelley says with confidence and saunters over the towards the pair.

 

“Who is you-know-who?” Christen asks.

 

“That’s Emily Sonnett, she’s a transfer from a school in the metro area or so I’ve heard from Tobin. Tobin says she’s a good runner and looks like she’ll definitely help out at district and state,” Julie says and afterwards telling Christen about her summer break.

 

In the midst of their talking, Kelley and Tobin walk up to Julie and Christen, Emily-less and a slight pout upon Kelley’s face.

 

“Hey Chris, hey Julie,” Tobin greets them.

 

“Hi Tobin,” both girls say.

 

“Why is Kelley pouting? She got to see Emily,” Christen asks while Kelley weakly denies that she’s pouting.

 

“Kelley’s being a big baby. Em had to go find her classes and she had to go but I blame Kelley for not offering Em to help her find her classes so they could spend more time together. Speaking of which, what classes do you have Chris?” Tobin asks, giving all her attention to Christen.

 

Christen smiles at Tobin sweetly and hands over her schedule, knowing Tobin’s asking to be polite because they’re a year apart. Tobin being a junior this year and the two having completely different classes they need to take.

 

“Oh bummer, Chris, I thought we would at least have an elective together. I missed you over the summer,” Tobin whines.

 

Christen is about to talk but is interrupted by the first bell and they all start to head off to class. Tobin walks next to Christen and both head all the way up to third floor while losing friends to classes on the first and second floor.

 

Christen stops at a classroom and says, “This is me. Maybe I’ll see you around Tobin.”

 

“Yeah, Chris. And even if we don’t, we still have practice after school,” Tobin says, smiling the entire time.

 

The two go their separate ways and Christen walks into class smiling thinking about practice later on and seeing Tobin. As she sits down, she has a funny feeling settle in her chest but she chalks it up to first day jitters.

 


	2. First Practice of the Year

The final bell rings, students fill the halls, and Christen is strolling leisurely towards the locker room. She heads down the stairs and walks past P.E. kids, basketball players, and football players that are heading out. Upon entering the locker room, she feels relaxed. A few seniors hang around to walk out together while the rest of the girls in the room are there for cross country.

 

Like last year, it’s filled with scared, nervous freshmen and loud laughter of the rest of the girls there. Just another thing she loves about cross country, the feeling of family whenever the whole team is together.

 

Christen walks over to the locker she used last season and throws her backpack in and changes. She looks around for Kelley since Julie doesn’t run, what a loser. She hears quickly-approaching footsteps, turns around, and it’s none other than Kelley O’Hara, in all her squirrely glory, who tackles her to the hard ground of the locker room.

 

“Oof, get off Kell,” Christen groans.

 

Kelley doesn’t seem affected by the collision at all, a wide smile on her face.

 

“I haven’t seen my best friend since this morning and we don’t have any classes together, not even lunch!” Kelley says exasperatedly, all the while still laying on top of Christen.

 

“I know Kelley, it sucks. Lunch sucks without you there, stupid B lunch,” Christen grumbles.

 

“Hey it’s not that bad, I’m there,” Tobin says, staring down at the two younger girls. “Up and up at ‘em Kell, I’m sure Chris doesn’t want to lay on the floor all day.”

 

Kelley gets up and brushes herself off, while Tobin offers a hand to Christen, who gladly accepts. Taking a look at Tobin for the first time, Christen sees she has a white tank top on paired with some black running shorts and what looks like a new pair of running shoes, the color the shade of sunset-orange that Tobin loves oh so much. She sees golden flecks in Tobin’s honey-brown eyes and the way her hair is put up in a ponytail with baby hairs going every which way. Christen also notices the way Tobin’s biceps flex as she helps Christen up.

 

“Tobs, did you lift weights over the summer?” Christen asks. “Your arms don’t look as noodle-ly anymore.”

 

“Are you checking me out Chris?” Tobin asks teasingly with a smirk until she processes the rest of what Christen said. “Hey, I didn’t have noodle arms last year!”

 

Christen gets interrupted by Kelley.

 

“Tobito, you did, don’t deny it. I don’t know how you finished out races last year with those scrawny twigs,” Kelley says smirking, leaning against Christen who’s laughing.

 

Tobin feels her face heat up, embarrassed. Not knowing why as she’s not one to be easily embarrassed but seeing Christen laughing at her expense wanted to make her leave the room. Her embarrassment is put to an end as Emily walks up to the trio and announces that they should head out to the field so they’re not late to practice.

 

Kelley immediately looks at Emily, who’s walking away at that point. Her mindless staring is put to an end by a push from Tobin.

 

“Go talk to her instead of staring, Squirrel,” Tobin smirks.

 

Kelley’s thoughts run through her head until she practically sprints to Emily, says something to her that has both girls smiling, and Kelly sprinting back to Tobin and Christen.

 

“Tobin,” Kelly says, motioning to her so she could whisper something into Tobin’s ear. “If I make a move on Emily, then you have to tell Chris about your crush on her.”

 

Smirking, Kelly runs back to Emily. Leaving Tobin and Christen alone in the locker room. Tobin stands there stock-still, thinking about what Kelley said.

 

“Tobin-,” Christen reaches out touching Tobin’s shoulder with worry etched on her face until Tobin turns her head and looks at Christen and starts to speak to her.

 

“Let’s go, Chris. Can’t be late on the first day,” Tobin says, smile back in place.

 

Tobin opens the door that leads to the fields, both girls walk through the doorway into the hot August air, and walk towards the rest of the team, shoulders bumping occasionally. Christen feels butterflies erupt in her stomach, not knowing why.

 

Wanting to ignore the feeling, Christen asks, “What did Kelley whisper to you earlier, Tobin?”

 

“Ah, it was nothing. Kelley being her weird usual self. She did say she would do something about her crush on Em though,” Tobin says, rubbing the back of her neck.

 

“Oh okay,” Christen says, knowing Tobin wasn’t being entirely truthful. “But that’s exciting. I hope Kell does something about Emily, I think they would be cute together.

  
The two girls continue conversation, shortly arriving to the fields. A couple of the fields were for soccer, one for football, and one for the god-awful band. On their own little half-field, the cross country team was waiting for the coaches to show up and tell them the run they were going to do that day.

 

Conversation stops among everybody as a loud yell is heard from the east side of the fields. There stands the coaches, signaling it’s time to warm up. Chatter resumes as everybody begins to run around the fields, Tobin and Christen warm up together, falling into the routine they set up last year. Laughing and talking about anything and everything, running past the JV football practice, running past ROTC doing PT, running past the boys' and the girls' soccer practices, and eventually passing the band field, with hushed voices and laughs at the band’s expense.

 

Coach H, the head coach, calls over the entire team, telling them to sit. He goes over the practice plan that day, telling them the route and how long the run will be, along with the importance of hydration and giving it your all during practice. Christen only listens for the route and time as she is trying to listen to Tobin tell her a story from this past summer, quietly giggling every now and then. After he is finished, everybody gets up, starts their timers on their watches signaled by beeps, and they are off running.

 

“Time to die, Chris, but I’ll see you afterwards right?” Tobin asks, since her pace is faster than Christen’s as she is a runner for varsity.

 

“Of course, Tobs,” Christen assures her and both start their run. Tobin catching up easily with the other kids on varsity and Christen falling into pace with Kelley.

 

“You two sure want to spend a lot of time together,” Kelley tells Christen with a slightly teasing tone.

 

“Of course we do Kelley, we’re friends and we haven’t seen each other since last year,” Christen points out like it’s the most obvious thing in the world.

 

“Don’t get all defensive, Press,” Kelley says. “All I’m saying is that if I didn’t know you two personally, I would think that y’all are together or something with as much time as you two are always spending together. Like this morning in the commons and in the locker room and before and during warm-ups. You two were even sitting next to each other when Coach was talking and don’t think that I didn’t see you two whispering to each other.”

 

Kelley picks up her pace and leaves Christen behind, her head replaying what Kelly said.

 

“I don’t like Tobin like that,” Christen says to herself in disbelief. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What are y'all thinking so far?
> 
> Also no offense if you are in band, I'm taking tiny details from my own xc team and we have beef with the band at our school but that's a story for a different day.


	3. First Crush of the Year?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't really like this chapter. It feels all over the place. It's a bit longer, I think.

 

Days pass filled with school work and practices in the heat, yet Christen seems to only have one thing on her mind, Tobin or more specifically what Kelley said about Tobin.

She roams through the hallway among tired high schoolers, thoughts running through her head and a crease etched between her eyebrows.

“There’s no way I like Tobin,” Christen mumbled to herself, continuing to walk her laps on the first floor.

Christen's too lost in her thoughts and runs into a body.

“Sorry-oh it’s only you,” Christen grumbles.

“Yes it is I, Kelley-wait what do you mean only me?!” Kelly exclaims.

“Oh come on Kelley just leave Christen alone,” Emily says.

Christen notices that Kelley and Emily are coming into school together. She knew Kelley drove to school but there’s no way she would offer to drive Emily to school unless this is what Tobin meant the other day when she mentioned Kelley would do something about her crush.

“Do you drive to school, Emily?” Christen asked.

Kelley started to pick up on what Christen was getting at and wide-eyed, she tried to signal to Christen to stop talking.

“No actually, I was walking to the bus stop when Kelley drove up beside me and asked if she could give me a ride. We live in the same neighborhood, what a coincidence right?” Emily told Christen.

“How generous of Kell to offer to drive you to school,” Christen said smirking. “We’ve been best friends since middle school and she’s never offered to drive me to school.”

“Really, Kelley?” Emily said surprised, eyebrows raised.

“Okay, that’s not fair. You know you live on the other side of the town and you know I like to sleep in,” Kelley stated bluntly. 

“I guess this morning treated you well then Kelley, my bus arrives at 6:45 and school doesn’t start till 7:15,” Emily brought up.

Christen looked at Kelley with a surprised look on her face which then turned into a smirk.

“Speaking of the time,” Kelley said with a slight blush on her face, looking at her watch, “The bell rings in two minutes, I’m gonna head to class. See you guys.”

Kelley leaves at a fast-paced walk leaving Emily and Christen behind. The two girls chat until the bell rings, Emily leaving and Christen once again by herself. Christen realizes that she’s still on the first floor and on the opposite end of the school to where her class is. She finds the nearest stairway and starts to head up. Halfway up the stairway, she hears somebody call her name.

“Oh, this better be quick. Mr. B doesn’t like late students,” Christen thought as she turns around. “It’s Tobin.”

Tobin, with a wide smile on her face, looks up at Christen and quickly catches up to Christen on the stairs. They make eye contact and just smile at each other.

“Hey Chris.”

“Hey Tobin.”

In a comfortable silence, the two walk up the stairs to the third floor. Like the first day of school, Tobin walks Christen to class. When they get closer to Christen’s classroom, Tobin pulls Christen into the stairway. Christen feels her heart start to race, wondering why Tobin would pull her into the stairway when she knows she doesn’t like to be late. Tobin puts her hands on Christen’s shoulders and smiles at her. The next thing she knows, she’s wrapped up in Tobin’s warmth in the cool stairway. They pull apart and smile at each other.

“I’ve missed you, Chris,” Tobin says quietly with a small, shy smile upon her face.

“What do you mean, Tobin? We see each other at practice everyday,” Christen says confused, head tilting slightly.

“That doesn’t really count. We only wave ‘hi’ to each other and now that it’s getting closer to our first meet practices are tougher plus you know how Coach Henderson is. That’s why I wanted to ask if you wanted to eat lunch with me today so we could catch up or something,” Tobin says, hope in her eyes.

Christen mulls over Tobin’s words and realizes that what she said is true. Christen really wants to spend more time with Tobin and she knows this is her chance and maybe they could eat lunch together more often. Before Christen is about to agree, Tobin interrupts her.

“It’s perfectly fine if you don’t want to Chris. I understand,” Tobin says, sadness slowly beginning to make it’s way onto her face.

“No-,”Christen exclaims. “Not ‘no’ I don’t want to join you but as in ‘no’ to what you just said. I’d be happy to eat lunch with you Tobin. I’ve missed you too,” Christen says, a smile gracing her features.

“Okay, Chris. Let’s get you to class so we’re not as late as we are now,” Tobin says happily.

The walk to class with a quick pace and see through the class windows that some teachers already started their lessons. They pass a commons area and eventually make it to Mr. B’s classroom.

“Here we are, Chris. I’ll see you at lunch, I’ll be waiting at the entrance to the cafeteria,” Tobin says before giving Christen one last hug before jogging off to her first class of the day.

Christen has a smile on her face as she walks into first period, not realizing that she’s late.

“Ahem, Miss Press, you are ten minutes late and disturbing the lesson. Do you have a tardy slip?” Mr. B questioned with a hard glare.

“Sorry, Mr. B. It won’t happen again,” Christen said in a small voice.

“It better not, Miss Press. Do I need to go over my rules for tardiness again, class?” Mr. B says harshly.

“No Mr. B,” The class monotonously says.

The lesson continues and Christen can’t help but to think that being late to class was worth it.

\-------

Classes pass by at the pace of molasses. Christen sits impatiently in all her classes, counting down the minutes to lunch time. She can’t help but to feel a little glad that it’s time for her fifth period, the last class until lunch time. She does her best to pay attention but she gets lost in thought about what she missed during class when she wasn’t paying attention, who she knew in each of her classes, who she could get notes from in her classes and Tobin. Minutes pass as Christen sits in class, doodling rather than note-taking. She hears the sound of backpacks being zipped closed and the rustling of papers. She looks up and notices two minutes of class are left. She puts her things away right on time as the bell rings when she gets out of her seat. Christen walks down the stairs and out the doors of the school, on her way to the cafeteria, on her way to Tobin. She walks at a pace she deems just right; fast enough to get to Tobin but slow enough to take in everything around her. She notices the temperature and feels a slight wind that rustles the trees leaves. She hears friends talking amongst themselves and doors opening and closing. She takes it all in until she hears her name called by the person she’s been waiting to see all day.

“Chris!” Tobin yells out into the crowd of hungry students.

Christen faces Tobin as well as seeing several guys turn their heads, assuming someone called their name. Tobin and Christen meet and walk shoulder-to-shoulder.

“Hi Tobin. How were your classes?” Christen asked.

“Good, or as good as they can go I guess,” Tobin replied, shrugging her shoulders.

“Hmm, I see, I see. Tobin, I brought my own lunch today, did you?”

“Nope. Most of the time I do but, I woke up late today so I’m headed to the lunch line. Do you want to wait with me or find us a table?”

“Ummm,” Christen hesitates. “I guess I’ll find a table. The lines don’t seem that long today, I’m sure you’ll survive without me.”

Tobin heads to the lunch lines while Christen looks through the sea of students to find a table. She sees an empty one which she knows is rare and hurries to get to it before somebody else. She sits and puts her bag down, grabbing her lunch. She sees Tobin approaching with a slice of pizza.

“Aren’t we supposed to be eating healthy while in season?” Christen asked with a teasing lilt in her voice.

“Oh please Chris, who on the cross country team actually eats healthy? We run it all off anyways,” Tobin says rolling her eyes.

Conversation flows smoothly between the two as they talk about classes, classmates, the team, if they might make to state, and catching up on what they could’ve missed in each others lives in a month. The bell rings signalling that lunch is over.

“Hey, Chris. Maybe we could sit together for lunch this year. I don’t really know anybody during B lunch, I’ve just been floating between people who are in my classes,” Tobin suggests.

“I’d like that Tobin. I don’t really know anybody either. I have to head to class now but I’ll see you at practice, alright,” Christen says while slowly walking away.

“Okay, Chris. See you then!”

\--------------------

School was finally over and now, it was time to practice. The team’s first meet was this week. Christen felt prepared but nervous. She walked into the locker room full of rowdy girls, yelling and laughing.

“I guess cross country runners don’t have an inside voice,” Christen thought, giggling to herself.

She changes into her running gear and while she’s tying her shoes, she hears Kelley comment loudly on something.

“Aww, look at Tobs and Christen, they’re matching!” She exclaims as if nobody heard her the first time.

Christen gets up and heads to where Tobin’s locker is on the varsity side of the locker room, her shoes still untied. She sees Tobin and can’t help but to giggle. She sees Tobin look up and she lets out a slight chuckle at the sight of her favorite person. Both Tobin and Christen are wearing the shirt from last year’s cross country season along with neon blue running shorts, that go with with the school’s colors.

“Hey come on, Chris. Don’t be such a copycat,” Tobin teases with a wink.

“Toby, we both know you woke up late today, which technically makes you the copycat,” Christen teases right back, using the nickname she knows Tobin hates.

“But, I’m older than you, making you the copycat by default,” Tobin argues, crossing her arms.

“Can’t beat that logic I guess,” Christen says shrugging.

Kelley decides to add in her own two cents.

“Tobs, Chris, why don’t you do that thing on Instagram where you take a picture because you guys match and put some kind of cheesy caption. It’s all the rage these days,” Kelley says.

“I don’t think so Kelley,” Tobin says, rubbing her hand on the back of her neck.

“Why not, Tobin? It’s no big deal, plus you’re my best friend,” Christen says sweetly with a shy smile.

“Best friend?! Best friends?! Chris you better take that back, I’ve known you since middle school!” Kelley exclaims, starting to stomp towards Christen, who's still smiling at Tobin adoringly.

“Oh hush Kelley and get over here and take our picture,” Tobin states while she gets her camera on her phone set up. 

Kelley grabs Tobin’s phone while Tobin and Christen pose against a blank wall in the locker room. Tobin doesn’t really deem any of the pictures they take “insta-worthy” by her standards. She whispers to Kelley who grins. Tobin and Christen get ready to take the picture and Tobin knows that this is the one.

Later that night, after Christen returned home from practice. She checked her phone for messages or any important reminders but, only sees an Instagram notification. She swipes and sees who tagged her in a photo. She looks at it and can’t help the smile that crosses her face. She looks at Tobin’s “insta-worthy” picture. Tobin is hugging Christen with her face right next to Christen’s, arms wrapped loosely around Christen's neck, looking at the camera with a huge smile spread across her face. Christen was caught mid-laugh, as if she was just told a joke (which she was), while her arms her wrapped around Tobin’s waist, both in each other’s embrace. Christen looked at the caption and read, “ _love this gal <3_” She continues to look at the photo and can’t help but to think that maybe Kelley was right about her feelings for Tobin.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hopefully, you guys liked it. Comments appreciated :)


	4. First Meet of the Year Pt.1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The day before the meet (somewhat) and the day of

 

**Friday**

 

From the other side of campus, Christen speed walks to the locker room.

 

“I can’t be late for practice,” Christen mumbles while hurriedly making her way down the stairs jumping to skip the last two steps, almost losing her balance.

 

She checks her watch as she walks into the locker room, noticing she has five minutes to make it to the field. A little more at ease knowing she has some time, she looks up and stops momentarily. There in front of her is a shirtless Tobin, looking like she lost something. Christen shakes her head, not noticing the way her heart skipped a beat or Tobin looking at her somewhat strangely.

 

“Hey Chris, whatcha doing? Are you okay?” Tobin questions, genuinely worried for her friend.

 

“Um-I-I’m alright, just clearing my head, y’know. First meet of the season is tomorrow, I guess I’m a little worried I won’t run well,” Christen lets out.

 

“Chris, quit being such a little worrywart,” Tobin chuckles. “You’ll do fine. Besides, it’s like you said, it’s the first meet. We wouldn’t want to have you peak so early in the season, when we might need you for districts.”

 

“I mean-I guess. It’s probably just habit that I worry too much but I can’t help it. Thanks for the vote of confidence though,” Christen voices, putting her hair into a ponytail. “I’m gonna get ready, we’re probably really late now.”

 

“Okay-wait, Chris,” Tobin says, while walking over to where Christen changes, distracted by her body, in a lace bra and shorter-than-normal running shorts. Tobin’s mind goes blank, Christen unknowingly adding more fuel to the fire to the torch that Tobin carries for her.

 

“Yeah, Tobin?” Christen asks, while slipping on a sports bra over the lacy one that she’s trying to unclip. “Tobin?”

 

Christen finally looks up as she slips out of her lacy bra, seeing Tobin staring who blushes and looks down at the floor. Embarrassed, Christen finds a shirt and slips it on as quick as she can.

 

Blushing, Christen asks shyly, “What were you going to ask Tobin?”

 

Still shirtless, Tobin remembers her predicament before she saw Christen.

 

“Oh! Um...I was wondering if you had an extra shirt because I swore that I packed one this morning but it’s not in my bag and I came into the locker room late when no one-” Tobin rambles before getting cut off by Christen.

 

“Yeah, I’m sure I have one,” She says while rummaging through her extra bag before grabbing a fluorescent tank top, handing it to Tobin.

 

“Thanks, Chris. You’re a lifesaver, you know that?” Tobin rhetorically asks while pulling the loose tank top on. “It’s a bit bright for my taste.”

 

Christen looks at Tobin in her bright neon yellow tank top, taking in how it contrasts with Tobin’s tan skin.

 

“Well, beggars can’t be choosers, Tobin. You should know that. Now come on, Coach H is probably mad that we’re not out in the heat running,” Christen says, grabbing Tobin’s hand and leading her out of the locker room and speed walking to the fields. As they’re walking, hands still intertwined, both girls blush thinking about the shirt incident.

 

**Saturday**

 

“ _Ooohhhh, ah, ah, ah_

_oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh_

_Drowning deep in my sea of loathing…”_

 

Christen wakes up, hearing the sound of some rock song that she’s heard before but can’t place. She listens to the rough voice and the sounds of guitars and drums, trying to place where her phone is.

 

“Ah ha! I found you!” Christen says, more awake now, pressing the ‘stop alarm’ button on her phone.

 

Remembering the name of the song, she unlocks her phone and sends a text.

 

 **Pressy** : T, do you mind telling me why ‘Down With the Sickness’ rudely woke me up this morning?

                                                 

 **Heath Bar** : I have no clue what you’re talking about Chris ;) Now get ready, we have a meet to get to 

                                                                   

Rolling her eyes, Christen puts on a playlist from her Spotify to get ready to. She goes through her routine and gets dressed, putting on her singlet and spandex, putting her warm ups on over them. Taking her time to get downstairs, she sees her parents-ever the early birds-sipping coffee and talking amongst themselves.

 

“Christen, you ready to go?” Her dad asks.

 

Christen nods and the two leave the house.

 

Once at the school, Christen looks at her watch.

 

“Five till six,” She thinks, early but not too early. She says hi to the coaches and gets onto the bus, plopping down into a seat. She sees runners pull up in cars or runners getting dropped off by parents, lazily making their way onto the bus, obviously still tired from waking up before sunrise. She puts in her headphones and closes her eyes trying to relax.

 

Christen flutters her eyes open, noticing that the sun is now shining and she’s somewhere different. Looking out the window, she recognizes that it’s the course that the community college sets up for the meet. She feels her right earbud pop out, instinctively reaching for it to put it back in her ear to continue to listen to her music when she hears a voice.

 

“Good morning, Chris. The ride was awfully boring without someone to talk to,” Tobin says happily, giving Christen a big grin.

 

“Oh-morning Tobin. Sorry I wasn’t awake to entertain you,” Christen says, sarcastically. “I didn’t even know you were gonna ride the bus to the meet, I thought you would have drove here.”

 

“That’s me, just full of surprises. Plus the bus rides are the best part of the season- well at least when everybody resembles actual lively people, not sleep-deprived zombies,” Tobin says, glancing around at the team, sleepily making their way off the bus with their bags. “Plus what kind of friend would I be, if I left you all alone?”

 

Looking at Tobin’s wide grin, Christen’s mind gets hung up on the word ‘friend,’ frowning slightly and can't help to think, "Is that all I am to her? Wait, why am I so hung up on this?". Tobin takes notice of the slight change in Christen’s expression, but changes the topic of conversation.

 

“C’mon now. Almost everybody is off and we need to head to the tent,” Tobin says, grabbing her bag and Christen noticing how effortlessly good-looking she looks in the new varsity warm-ups.

 

Getting off the bus, the two make their way over to the team’s tent. Tobin notices that Christen isn’t her usual self but keeps light conversation with her anyways, wondering what could be on the green-eyed girl’s mind that’s making her so quiet. Once they reach a tent and find a place to sit in the cool grass, Tobin decides to say something.

 

“Chris, you’re quieter than usual. What’s up?” Tobin asks and continues to speak, rambling on. “Did I do something? If so, tell me. Oh my gosh! Is it because of this morning and the song I set as your alarm. I didn’t mean to be rude, I just thought it’d be funny Christen, I’m sorry! Please forgive me, don’t ignore me please.”

 

Christen slightly giggles at Tobin’s words, looking into her worried, honey-colored eyes.

 

“It’s nothing Tobin. I just got caught up in my worries about the meet...Wait, this morning- Ha! I knew it was you that changed it!” Christen exclaimed loudly, jumping up while the team is giving her weird looks.

 

“What?! What I if just said to get a reaction out of you? Huh? Okay, fine, I did do it. Happy now?” Tobin asks, rolling her eyes. “It’s your own fault Chris, you should really set up a passcode on your phone.”

 

Going through her settings, she opens up ‘passcode' because she knows she has one set up. Looking at Tobin, she sees a smirk adorned on her face. She looks at her passcode; that wasn’t changed, she knew she had one set up! She then looks at the fingerprints set up and sees ‘fingerprint 1,’ ‘fingerprint 2,’ and ‘:P. ‘ She looks up and punches Tobin’s arm.

 

“When did you even set up your fingerprint in my phone, you loser?!” Christen exclaims.

 

Chuckling while rubbing her arm where she was punched (she knows she deserves it, but it was worth it), Tobin says, “Chris it’s not hard when you’re passcode is 2323. I’m you’re best friend, I just know this stuff plus, it’s not hard to guess what it is when you put you're passcode as you’re favorite number Pressy.”

 

“Whatever,” Christen says rolling her eyes, then looking at her watch, noticing it’s time to warm up before the race. “I have to go warm up Tobin, see you at the starting line?”

 

“You know it, Chris,” Tobin says, giving her a thumbs up. “I’ll be the one cheering the loudest.”

 

“Oh please, our whole team is the loudest of all the schools here, how will I know you’re even cheering?” Christen teases with a smirk, taking off her warm up jacket, leaving her in her singlet and her sweats.

 

“I guess you’ll have to wait and find out,” Tobin teases right back with a wink. “Now go warm up before you’re left behind Press.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys like it. Part 2 is a work in progress but almost finished with. 
> 
> Leave a comment if you wish to do so, it's appreciated :)


	5. First Meet Pt. 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm back with this mess of a story. Also, I don't really like this chapter.

Chattering and music happening all around at the field near the local community college. Christen is warming up with the rest of the team. She feels nervous but the silliness of the team is keeping her grounded.

 

“What’s this one called again?” one of the girls says.

 

“I don’t know, we just call them little kicks,” Kelly says.

 

The JV runners finish warming up and get to the starting line to do their sprints. Christen feels butterflies even more as time keeps ticking on and she sees the coaches discussing away from the starting line. She works on her breathing but her nerves won’t go away. She passes the coaches on her last sprint and she sees the other girls pass her as she slows down.

 

“Bring it in, girls,” Coach H says, flanked by the other coaches. “First meet of the year, let’s get excited!”

 

The girls cheer to share the sentiment with the coach.

“Most of you have run this course before, to others it is brand new,” Coach H continues. “There are hills, use them to your advantage. The coaches and I will be around, listen to us and do what we say to the best of your ability. You got this girls, stick together and push through the pain.”

 

Christen, being one of the veterans, starts off the cheer, “Team on three, one, two three…”

 

“Team!” Everyone says together.

 

Nerves overtake her, she can feel her hands shaking. Christen attempts to calm herself down as much as possible. She wishes she wasn’t running first. Too involved in her nerves, she doesn’t hear the cheers of the other runners especially one in particular.

 

“Woooo! Let’s go Chris!” Tobin exclaims with her trademark smile on her face.

 

Christen looks away from the starting line and sees Tobin hollering, annoying those around her. The two make eye contact and all of a sudden, Christen’s nerves are gone. She sees Tobin giving her two thumbs up and the rest of the team having a good time, ready to cheer for their JV girls.

 

She smiles back with a thumbs up of her own and hears the static of the speaker system.

 

“Okay girls, first I will signal with the flag and then I will set off the starting gun. Once you hear it, go. If you hear a second shot, stop and head back to the starting line,” the official said.

 

The nerves hit her once again but she gets ready to start running. Christen feels a poke on her shoulder.

 

“We got this Chris,” Kelly says with a reassuring smile.

 

Christen smiles back, ready to say her own sentiment to the goofy girl, but she gets interrupted by hearing the gun go off.

 

\--------------------------------------------

 

She feels like she’s going to throw up. She feels like she’s going to cry.

 

“ _24 minutes flat,_ ” Christen thinks.

 

Christen was used to feeling disappointed when it came to cross country season but she didn’t think it would come so early in the season.

 

“Hey, Chris,” Tobin says, once she sees the younger girl. “What’s wrong? You look like you’re going to cry.”

 

“It’s nothing, Tobin. Thanks for worrying but you should be getting ready to warm-up right now,” Christen says, blinking back tears.

 

“Okay, but don’t think I’m gonna forget about this. See you after the race,” Tobin says, hugging Christen goodbye.

 

Christen feels a little better after hugging Tobin but as she walks back to the tent, not wanting to cool down, she can’t help but to feel disappointed in herself. She grabs her water and sits by her bag underneath the tent, thinking about all her mistakes during her race. Before she can dwell on it any longer, Kelley comes back to the tent with the other JV girls.

 

“Chris, there you are. You missed the cool down. You’re lucky coaches weren’t there,” Kelley says, worried about her friend and her solemn state.

 

“I must have forgot,” Christen says, trying to avoid Kelley’s gaze.

 

“Well...let’s go. The varsity girls’ race is going to start in a few minutes. Tobin and Emily are running and we have to show support for our girls,” Kelley says, knowing Christen doesn’t want to talk about what’s making her upset.

 

“Yeah, okay,” Christen says, hopping up, making sure not to hit her head. “Wait, you said ‘our’ girls. Me and Tobin aren’t a thing but…”

 

“Oh my god!” Christen screams, making a few people turn their heads. “Are you and Sonnet together?!”

 

“Well that got you out of your funk real quick,” Kelley says, exasperatedly. “But, yes, we are kind of a thing, we’re not official or anything. Let’s get to the starting line and I’ll tell you everything.”

 

The two walk in a comfortable silence. Christen ponders how Kelley and Sonnet got together while Kelley worries how Emily will take the news that someone knows about their relationship or whatever they are.  

 

The girls hear the rowdy cheering and feel excitement take them over. The team sings their school song loudly and quietly cheer while the official is explaining the signals. Christen looks for Tobin in the box that is for their school but doesn’t see her. A different feeling of disappointment washes over her and the gun goes off as well as Kelley.

 

“So, I’ve had a crush on Sonnet since summer workouts started, when she transferred. I’m JV so we only ran together during warm-ups but I tried to work my charm on her then and I hope to god I wasn’t annoying her. Oh my god, what if I annoyed her?!” Kelley interrupts herself.

 

“You guys are together, why does it matter?” Christen questions as they both try to find their footing in the mess of bushes, choosing the “shortcut” to get to the next part of the course.

 

“Oh right, I guess it doesn’t matter,” Kelley says, before she continues her rant. “Anyways, that’s when it all started. Then school begins and we have one class together. Turns out we both need our fine arts credit. That’s when we really got to talking. It also turns out that we live in the same neighborhood so I started to give her rides to school and after practice. We started hanging out more and sometimes we would run together. I asked her on a date and the rest is history,” Kelley ends bashfully with a big grin on her face.

 

“Awe, I’m so happy for you Kell,” Christen said sincerely.

 

“Thanks, Chris- ooh there she is!” Kelley exclaims.

 

Kelley and Christen cheer for her as she passes although Kelley is louder than Chris. A minute or two later, they see Tobin with a serious look plastered on her face. Christen wonders why Tobin doesn’t look as relaxed as she usually does. The two cheer just as loudly for her, telling her to catch the runner in front of her.

 

“Tobito doesn’t seem very Tobin right now. I wonder what’s up with her,” Kelley comments.

 

“Me too,” Christen says.

 

They run around cheering all the varsity girls on, eventually deciding to camp out at the finish line, so they don’t lose their voices. Once they get there, they see some of their other teammates and stay by them. Christen begins to think what would have made Tobin unhappy before the race but can’t think of anything.

 

“Look, there’s some runners coming in!” Someone exclaims.

 

Some girls from other schools pass by and then Christen sees some of their girls. She cheers loud, trying to give them that extra push to pass some girls on the way in.

 

“Okay Becky and Mal are in. Where’s the rest of them?” Kelley questions.

 

Then Christen sees Tobin, leading the rest of the girls to the finish. She smiles seeing as Tobin’s really stepping up this year to keep the girls together. All of the team cheers as loud as possible. Christen, known for being a bit more reserved than the others, cheers just as loud and just as excited as the others, surprising Kelley and a few others. She keeps cheering as they all pass the finish line.

 

“Come on, Kell, let’s go congratulate them,” Christen says with one person in mind.

 

“Them or Tobin?” Kelley says with a smirk on her face.

 

Christen blushes, “All of them. Why would I only want to see Tobin? That’s crazy. She ran great and stepped up as a leader but they all ran great.”

 

“Keep telling yourself that Press,” Kelley says, knowing Christen has a crush on their friend.

 

“I will,” Christen says, looking for the familiar blue of the school’s jerseys. “Tobin!”

 

With her hands over her head, Tobin turns around. The rest of the girls drinking the water that was provided to them.

 

“You ran a great race, T!” Christen congratulates while giving Tobin a hug.

 

“Thank you, Chris,” Tobin responds while reciprocating the hug lightly. “I’ll see you after the cool down, okay?”

 

“Okay,” Christen says lightly, while Tobin gathers the girls to start the cool down.

 

Christen feels her heart drop slightly, feeling like Tobin left for the cool down quicker than normal. Feeling disheartened, she found Kelley, who gushed over how hot Sonnet looked after a run, and the two went back to the tent before the next race started. She occupied her time talking to Kelley, even though she really wanted to see Tobin.

 

Christen perked up when she saw the varsity girls walking to the tent but at the same time, the varsity boys race was about to start. Everyone was already getting up to go cheer them on so her and Kelley did the same. While cheering them on, she let Kelley dominate the conversation.

 

“So one time after pract-” Kelley began to say, once they got to the second mile marker.

 

“I think Tobin’s ignoring me,” Christen says quietly.

 

“What makes you say that?” Kelly says with worry.

 

“She said she would find me after cool down but she didn’t,”  Christen says.

 

“Well, you know Tobin. Maybe she forgot what she said,” Kelley tried to explain.

 

“Considering her and Allie have been cheering on the boys in the same vicinity as us, I doubt it,” Christen says angrily. “I’m going back to the tent, I don’t feel like cheering anymore.”

 

“Chris,” Kelley starts but Christen was already walking away.

 

\-------------------------------------------------

 

Christen spent the rest of the meet in the shade of the tent, listening to music and trying to forget that Tobin was ignoring her.

 

Once everyone was gathered at the tent once again, Coach had them take it down and led them to where the awards were being announced. She couldn’t hear which team got what place due to her earbuds still in her ears but she think they did good based on the cheers the team did every now and then. She was glad they did well but she knew she didn’t do as well as she should have. Her eyes watering at the thought of her bad race and then Tobin ignoring her.

 

“ _I just want to get home_ ,” She thinks, trying to not let any tears fall.

 

Thankfully, Coach wraps up his speech to the team pretty quickly and she rushes to the bus. Once on the bus, she tried to fall asleep while the other got on as well but she didn’t expect someone to sit next to her. She opens her eyes and sees Tobin.

 

“Hey,” Tobin says quietly, breaking the silence between the two.

 

“Hi,” Christen replies curtly, taking out her earbuds.  

 

“Can we talk, Chris?” Tobin questions nervously.

 

“I don’t know, are you done ignoring me?” Christen replies, feeling the bus starting to move.

 

“Ignoring you? Chris I wouldn’t do that,” Tobin says.

 

“Obviously you would. Did you even bother to try and find me after your cool down?” Christen angrily says, finally looking Tobin in her eyes.

 

Tobin sees anger and hurt in Christen’s eyes.

 

“I did look for you but the boys race was right after our cool down, so I was rushing so I could try to find you at the start but I couldn’t. I ran into Allie there and stuck with her until I found you. I saw you and I kept trying to get your attention but you didn’t see me,” Tobin tried to explain to her.  

 

“Really? I went back to the tent so why didn’t you find me there?” Christen says, her anger having dissipated a little.

 

“I didn’t think to look for you there, I thought you were still out cheering on the team. I also knew I would see you on the bus so I decided to wait,” Tobin said.

 

“Okay, I’m sorry for making assumptions,” Christen apologizes.

 

“It’s okay. So...do you want to talk about what’s bothering you? You seemed upset after your race,” Tobin says, bringing up what had happened earlier.

 

“Not really, I’ll feel better eventually. Plus, you’re one to talk. You looked like something was bothering you during your race and afterwards when I was trying to talk to you,” Christen said.

 

“Yes something was bothering me. You won’t talk to me and let me know what’s going on,” Tobin said with a bit of anger.

 

“It’s something I don’t want to talk about,” Christen says.

 

“Chris, that’s what I’m here for. I’m here for you to talk about anything and everything. You can’t keep everything bottled up,” Tobin says softly.

 

Christen feels her anger and annoyance building up once again.

 

“Yes, Tobin! You're my friend, not my girlfriend. I don’t have to say or do anything for you. If I don’t want to talk about it, then I don’t want to talk about it!” Christen says, almost shouting.

 

“Okay, I’m going to go sit with Allie if that’s how you feel. I’ll let you cool off,” Tobin says, obviously hurt.

 

Christen instantly regrets it as soon as she sees how her words affected Tobin. She sits in silence, wondering how she’s going to fix this.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> let me know what you think
> 
> p.s. I was thinking of rewriting this story. It would be the same concept but maybe written better


	6. Aftermath of the First Meet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoo, another update!!

**Squirrel:** Hey, are you okay? You didn’t look too happy the other day

 

 **CP:** I’m okay, I guess. I yelled at Tobin the other day and I don’t know what to do.

 

 **Squirrel:** How about saying that you're sorry? You know Tobin just as well if not better than me. She’ll understand.

 

 **CP:** I know but what if she doesn’t and she hates me

 

 **Squirrel:** She could never hate you

 

Christen looks down at her phone, staring at Kelley’s reply.

 

“ _I doubt it. I treated her pretty badly after the meet_ ,” She thinks.

 

Christen’s alone in the classroom, waiting for the bell to ring so class could start and she could focus on something other than how to apologize to Tobin.

 

As it gets closer to the bell, more people start flooding into classrooms. Christen looks out into the hallway and sees Tobin walking towards her class. She laughs to herself, thinking that Tobin won’t be late to class for once. Sighing, she looks away.

 

“ _How will I fix this?_ ”

 

\--------------------------------

 

It’s been a long day for Christen and it’s only lunchtime. The bell rings and as she heads out the door, she wonders if she should still head to the cafeteria, Tobin’s there.

 

 **CP:** Are you sure Tobin won’t hate me?

 

 **Squirrel:** I’m positive Christen.

 

Feeling reassured somewhat, she heads to the cafeteria, nervous but ready to apologize to Tobin. She does her breathing exercises while going over what she is going to say. Once she enters the cafeteria, she looks around the many tables trying to find Tobin. She feels her breath hitch and butterflies in her stomach when she sees the junior at _their_ table, wearing a snapback and a t-shirt and jeans. Her backpacks are thrown on the table while she looks at her phone.

“ _She can’t hate me that much if she’s sitting at out spot_ ,” Christen thinks, a small smile on her face.

 

She gets hit with nerves again as she walks over to their table. She sits down and takes a deep breath, catching the attention of Tobin.

 

“Hi,” Christen breathily says.

 

“Hey, Christen,” Tobin says, no definite expression on her face.

 

“Um…how are you?” Christen says, mentally face palming. “ _I’m supposed to be apologizing, not making small talk.”_

 

“I’m okay,” Tobin answers.

 

“Really?” Christen says confused.

 

“Yeah...but, things could be better. There’s this girl I know and we’re friends but she won’t talk to me. I thought we were closer than that,” Tobin says flatly.

 

A silence settles between them. Tobin staring intently at Christen, who has her brow furrowed and her gaze on the table.

 

Taking a deep breath in and staring straight back at Tobin, she starts to ramble.

 

“I’m so sorry, Tobin! I didn’t mean to yell at you. I was frustrated and angry and I don’t know. I guess I took it out on you and ugh! I could see that I hurt you afterwards and I...I’m so sorry. I’m the worst friend ever and I get it if you hate me and you don’t want to be friends anymore,”

Christen finishes, tearing her gaze away from honey-brown eyes.  

 

“I know you’re sorry Chris. I understand. You’re one of my best friends and I could never hate you,” Tobin says, smiling adoringly at the sophomore. “Just promise me that you’ll talk to me, no more bottling up your feelings. I’m here for you.”

 

Looking up at the girl, she returns to smile with watery eyes.

 

“I promise Tobs,” Christen says.

 

“Now, do you want to talk about happened at the meet last week?” Tobin asks.

 

“Okay, yeah, I can do that,” Christen says. “ I...I ran so terribly last week.”

 

“It couldn’t have been that bad. I saw you run and you did not look terrible at all. Your form was good, you passed people. What was your time?” Tobin asks.

 

“24 minutes. I was the last girl to come in for our team. I should have been running C team at that pace. I just ran terribly,” Christen tells her.

 

“Okay, I mean...that’s not too bad considering you missed summer workouts and it’s only the first meet of the season. It was a tough course too...all those hills, oof. Plus, you can only get better from here on out. It’s one race out of many,” Tobin reassures. “Coaches believe in you, the team believes in you, I believe in you.”

 

“Thank you Tobin. Talking really helped,” Christen chuckles lightly.

 

“See! You should listen to me more often,” Tobin exclaims.

 

“Sure, especially to your hairbrained tricks,” Christen sassily replies.

 

“Hey, they’re not hairbrained!” Tobin argues back.

 

Christen then goes on a rant about all the trouble she’s gotten in due to her schemes.

 

\-----------------------------------

**CP:** Tobin doesn’t hate me!!

 

Christen sends the text, realizing she hasn't told Kelley, that her and Tobin reconciled. 

 

 **Squirrel:** I told you so :P

 **Squirrel:** Now hurry up and get ready for practice.

 

Seeing Kelley’s reply, she rushes to the locker room.

 

“ _Stupid Mrs. Turner. Making us all stay after the bell_ ,” Christen thinks, speed walking towards the gym.

 

She enters the gym and rushes down the stairs, weaving in and out of soccer and volleyball players standing in the hallway.

 

“Better hurry Pressy, you know how Coach gets,” Tobin says with a smirk.

 

Seeing Tobin leaning against the wall, she waves and says, “I know, I’m trying.”

 

Christen turns the corner and almost runs into a few girls leaving the locker room. She throws her backpack into a locker and gets her running clothes out.

 

“ _Gotta hurry, gotta hurry_ ,” She thinks. She finishes changing, grabs her water bottle, and walks out of the locker room, checking her watch.

 

The next thing she knows, she’s on the ground.

 

“Ouch,” Christen says, wondering how she got on the ground.

 

“I’m sorry Press, I was rushing in to see if you were ready. I saw one of the coaches heading out to the field,” Tobin says.

 

Christen blushes realizing Tobin’s on top of her.

 

“Uh...it’s okay, but we should probably head out, unless we want to get yelled at,” Christen says, making eye contact with Tobin.

 

“Oh yeah,” Tobin says quietly.

 

The two girls are still on the floor, making eye contact. It’s quiet as no one else is in the locker room.

 

“ _Is she leaning in?_ ” Christen thinks, looking at Tobin’s lips.

 

**BANG!**

 

“Chris, are you in here? Also, have you seen Tobin?” Kelley yells as she enters the locker room, catching a glimpse of the two on the floor.

 

Tobin quickly gets up and then helps Christen off the floor.

 

“Hmmm,” Kelley hums as she starts to think.

 

“Let’s go, we’re late to practice as it is,” Tobin says, looking down at the floor.

 

“Yeah,” Kelley says, while walking out. “You’re lucky Coach H is talking to us before the warm up. You two would have been so dead.”

 

Tobin and Christen follow, not making eye contact with each other. The three girls make their way out to the field and make it just in time for the warm up. Christen runs with Kelley as Tobin speeds up her pace to catch up with the other varsity runners.

 

“So…”Kelley begins.

 

“So what, Kell?” Christen says, gaze focused on Tobin ahead of them.

 

“What happened in the locker room with Tobin?” Kelley says, looking at her best friend.

 

“Nothing, she was seeing if I was still in the locker room and we ran into each other. We fell and that’s it,” Christen explains.

 

“Sure, Chris. I saw that she was on top of you. You can’t fool me,” Kelley smugly says.

 

“What do you mean I can’t fool you? There’s nothing to fool you with,” Christen says.

 

“You can tell me the truth, Pressy. Come on,” Kelley says.

 

“I don’t know what you want to hear Kell. There’s nothing to tell,” Christen says adamantly.

 

“Okay, okay. I’ll lay off,” Kelley relents. “But I’ll tell you this, Press, you and Tobin would be cute together.”

 

“I don’t like Tobin,” Christen says, loudly, making a few heads turn.

 

“Sure, whatever helps you sleep at night,” Kelley says.

 

Christen stays quiet for the rest of the warm up, thinking that Kelley’s crazy.

 

“ _No way, I have a crush on Tobin_ ,” She thinks, while doing the stretches. She looks over at the girl in question and watches her stretch. Realizing what she’s doing, she tears her gaze away from the junior. Christen doesn’t see Tobin doing the same thing.

 

Kelley sees her friends stealing glances at one another and can’t help but to think, “ _I hope I don’t have to deal with this all season_.”  

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Kudos and comments appreciated :)

**Author's Note:**

> To clarify, they run cross country (my love). This is kind of based off of a personal experience soooo. Leave comments and tell me what you think.


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